Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 1993

Tornado Warning 34, NWS Lincoln, IL

August 19, 1993Macoupin County, Illinois

NWS Lincoln, IL issued this tornado warning at Aug 19, 1993, 6:48 PM CDT for Macoupin County, Illinois. It was in force for 14 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 19, 1993, 6:48 PM CDT (23:48 UTC)
Expired
Aug 19, 1993, 7:02 PM CDT
In force
14 min
Issued by
NWS Lincoln, IL
Area
Whole counties

County Macoupin County, IL

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 91 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:49 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Paducah/Barkley, KY (KPAH), launched 12:00Z, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 266 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Paducah/Barkley, KY at 12:00Z on 1993-08-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 40 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Paducah/Barkley, KY at 12:00Z on 1993-08-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 33 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
40 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-305 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1453 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
11 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
33 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
50 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KSPI 192348
TORSPI
ILC117-135-200015-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD IL
648 PM CDT THU AUG 19 1993

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 715 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING 
COUNTIES

   IN THE CENTRAL PART OF ILLINOIS
      EXTREME EAST CENTRAL MACOUPIN...CENTRAL MONTGOMERY

AT 645 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR IN ST LOUIS
INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CONTINUING 35 TO 40 MILES SOUTH
OF SPRINGFIELD BETWEEN CARLINVILLE AND NOKOMIS.  THE SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING EAST AT 10 MPH.

ST LOUIS DOPPLER RADAR INDICATES THE POTENTIAL FOR CONTINUED
DEVELOPMENT OF FUNNEL CLOUDS OR TORNADOES WITH THIS STORM.  LARGE
HAIL IS ALSO POSSIBLE.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF
AVAILABLE.  OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR POSSIBLE...AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH CUSHIONS OR PILLOWS.
IF YOU ARE IN A MOBILE HOME OR VEHICLE...OR IF YOU ARE CAUGHT
OUTSIDE AND A TORNADO IS APPROACHING...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY
REINFORCED BUILDING.  IF NONE IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN A
CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

GEELHART

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 19, 5:40 PM CDT, 1 hour 8 minutes before
ILZ006-007-009-192345-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...CORRECTION...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEORIA IL
540 PM CDT THU AUG 19 1993

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 PM...

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN POSTED FOR MUCH OF CENTRAL AND PART
OF WESTERN ILLINOIS...INCLUDING THE CITIES OF MACOMB...PEORIA...AND
BLOOMINGTON/NORMAL UNTIL 1100 PM.

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE IN THE PEORIA AREA AT 540 PM. THESE STORMS
WILL PRODUCE BRIEF GUSTY WINDS...PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN AND DEADLY
LIGHTNING. THESE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE OUT OF PEORIA SHORTLY BEFORE
600 PM AND WILL AFFECT EAST PEORIA...WASHINGTON...EUREKA AND EL PASO
BETWEEN 600 AND 700 PM.

MILLER
/CORRECTION TO LAST SENTENCE./
Special weather statement, Aug 19, 5:42 PM CDT, 1 hour 6 minutes before
ILZ006-007-009-192345-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEORIA IL
540 PM CDT THU AUG 19 1993

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 PM...

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN POSTED FOR MUCH OF CENTRAL AND PART
OF WESTERN ILLINOIS...INCLUDING THE CITIES OF MACOMB...PEORIA...AND
BLOOMINGTON/NORMAL UNTIL 1100 PM.

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE IN THE PEORIA AREA AT 540 PM. THESE STORMS
WILL PRODUCE BRIEF GUSTY WINDS...PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN AND DEADLY
LIGHTNING. THESE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE OUT OF PEORIA SHORTLY BEFORE
600 PM AND WILL AFFECT EAST PEORIA...WASHINGTON...EUREKA AND EL PASO
BETWEEN AND 600 AND 700 PM.

MILLER
Special weather statement, Aug 19, 5:45 PM CDT, 1 hour 3 minutes before
ILZ006-007-009-192345-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...CORRECTION...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEORIA IL
540 PM CDT THU AUG 19 1993

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 PM...

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN POSTED FOR MUCH OF CENTRAL AND PART
OF WESTERN ILLINOIS...INCLUDING THE CITIES OF MACOMB...PEORIA...AND
BLOOMINGTON/NORMAL UNTIL 1100 PM.

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE IN THE PEORIA AREA AT 540 PM. THESE STORMS
WILL PRODUCE BRIEF GUSTY WINDS...PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN AND DEADLY
LIGHTNING. THESE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE OUT OF PEORIA SHORTLY BEFORE
600 PM AND WILL AFFECT EAST PEORIA...WASHINGTON...EUREKA AND EL PASO
BETWEEN 600 AND 700 PM.

MILLER
/CORRECTION TO LAST SENTENCE./
Special weather statement, Aug 19, 6:33 PM CDT, 15 minutes before
ILZ006-007-200045-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEORIA IL
633 PM CDT THU AUG 19 1993

...THUNDERSTORMS MOVING OUT OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS...

AN AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS WAS ALONG AND EAST OF A LINE FROM ABOUT
ROANOKE TO 15 MILES SOUTH OF BLOOMINGTON AT 630 PM. THESE THUNDERSTORMS
WILL PRODUCE PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN AND BRIEF GUSTY WINDS AS THEY
MOVE EAST AROUND 40 MPH. THE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE OUT
OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS BY 730 PM.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF WEST CENTRAL
AND CENTRAL ILLINOIS UNTIL 1100 PM.

MILLER
Special weather statement, Aug 19, 6:33 PM CDT, 15 minutes before
ILZ006-007-200045-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEORIA IL
633 PM CDT THU AUG 19 1993

...THUNDERSTORMS MOVING OUT OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS...

AN AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS WAS ALONG AND EAST OF A LINE FROM ABOUT
ROANOKE TO 15 MILES SOUTH OF BLOOMINGTON AT 630 PM. THESE THUNDERSTORMS
WILL PRODUCE PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN AND BRIEF GUSTY WINDS AS THEY
MOVE EAST AROUND 40 MPH. THE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE OUT
OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS BY 730 PM.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF WEST CENTRAL
AND CENTRAL ILLINOIS UNTIL 1100 PM.

MILLER
Special weather statement, Aug 19, 6:37 PM CDT, 11 minutes before
ILZ010-200030-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD IL
537 PM CDT THU AUG 19 1993

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS
UNTIL 11 PM CDT...

AT 535 PM CDT...WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS
EXTENDING FROM NORTH OF DECATUR NEAR DE WITT...THROUGH DECATUR...
TO SOUTH OF SPRINGFIELD NEAR TAYLORVILLE.  THESE STORMS WERE MOVING
TO THE EAST AT 30 MPH.

PEOPLE IN DE WITT...PIATT...MOULTRIE...AND WESTERN SHELBY COUNTIES
SHOULD BE ALERT FOR THESE THUNDERSTORMS.  WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH...
FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND VERY HEAVY RAIN CAN BE EXPECTED
WITH THE PASSAGE OF THESE STORMS.

GEELHART

The office that day

Everything else NWS Lincoln, IL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 18, 7:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXHancock30 min
Aug 18, 7:14 PM CDTTornado WarningILXSchuyler31 min
Aug 18, 7:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXSchuyler43 min
Aug 18, 8:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXCass, Morgan46 min
Aug 19, 5:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXMacoupin, Sangamon45 min
Aug 19, 5:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXMontgomery53 min
Aug 19, 5:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXChristian, Sangamon36 min
Aug 19, 6:14 PM CDTTornado WarningILXMacoupin, Montgomery31 min
Aug 19, 6:48 PM CDTTornado WarningILXMontgomery27 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Illinois, 1993Every tornado warning in 1993Tornadoes in 1993

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.